New York CISPES - Committee in Solidarity with the People of El SalvadorNew York CISPES - Committee in Solidarity with the People of...

Mission Statement

We are a grassroots organization dedicated to supporting the Salvadoran people's struggle for social and economic justice. The alternative they are building is an example to all people who seek a world free of injustice and oppression. We also recogn... Read more

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Mission Statement

We are a grassroots organization dedicated to supporting the Salvadoran people's struggle for social and economic justice. The alternative they are building is an example to all people who seek a world free of injustice and oppression. We also recognize the struggle of poor and working people, immigrants and refugees against the new economic order sponsored by the US government. We particularly focus our work on El Salvador because of the US government's role in sponsoring the unjust 12-year war there. We work to achieve two basic goals: 1. To end US economic, political, and military intervention in El Salvador, Central America, and the Caribbean. In the current context, to end US-sponsored global economic policies that devastate local cultures and economies, specifically in El Salvador. 2. To give political and material support to the grassroots movement in El Salvador for economic democracy and social justice. We support labor, women's, gay and lesbian and other grassroots organizing. We stand in solidarity with the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN), as we have since our founding, because of its central role in building a new society. We also support the other progressive forces in Central America and the Caribbean that are working for human rights and democracy. CISPES's organizing methodology is one of empowerment and respect for all people regardless of their race, gender, and sexual orientation. We challenge ourselves to meet the goals we struggle for globally in the actions of our own organization.... to be an activist community that reflects our vision for society as a whole. CISPES uses a wide variety of creative tactics to achieve our goals. These include: public protest and education, grassroots lobbying of elected officials and fundraising for both our own work and humanitarian aid to El Salvador.

Description

Since 1980, CISPES - Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador - has led grassroots organizing against U.S. economic and military intervention in El Salvador and in favor of the Salvadoran people's struggle for social justice. We stand in solidarity with our sisters and brothers in Latin America who are struggling to stop corporate globalization and to create an alternative.

Learn more about our history and our allies in El Salvador: http://cispes30years.org/

CISPES campaigns include fighting CAFTA (the Central American Free Trade Agreement); CISPES understands that "free" trade is designed to create a stable and profitable environment for corporations and investorswith little or no regard for environmental and labor standards. Agreements like the FTAA and CAFTA increase corporate power at the expense of poor and working people. CISPES has supported the Salvadoran anti-mining movement in their fight against corporations who are trying to use CAFTA to sue the government of El Salvador from preventing them from mining in the face of massive community resistance. CISPES is currently involved with immigrants rights coalitions nationally and using political education to build dissent against the militarization of Latin America and the US-led War on Drugs. We are working to build support for the gains of the new FMLN government in El Salvador and to defend their soverignty in the face of right-wing attacks in the region, particularly in Honduras, and we are leading multiple delegations and work brigade to El Salvador, as well as hosting speakers from El Salvador and virtual delegations throughout the year.

CISPES has always emphasized training programs, which enable activists to reach out to their communities and effectively build a movement for social change and economic justice. We are well known for our systematic training and development of our activists. Every year we hold regional and national gatherings that offer workshops and presentations aimed at teaching one another the basic organizing skills and political analysis it takes to become successful community activists.